Color Vision Cake
A gimmicky, campy, wonderfully tacky celebration of midcentury America. Jell-O finds its way into both the batter and the buttercream, producing a bright, vibrantly flavoured cake that is positively distinctive — and unmistakably 1950s in its presentation.
Prep: 30 minutes | Cook: 40 minutes
Ingredients
Cake
| QTY | Description |
|---|---|
| 225g | butter, softened |
| 170g | cherry Jell-O package, divided |
| 350g | granulated sugar |
| ½ tsp | vanilla extract |
| 360g | cake flour |
| 3 tsp | baking powder (use 2 tsp if baking at or above 1,500m) |
| ¾ tsp | salt |
| 120ml | whole milk |
| 115g | sour cream |
| 6 | large egg whites |
Frosting
| QTY | Description |
|---|---|
| 3 tbsp | whole milk, plus more if needed |
| — | remaining Jell-O from cake ingredients |
| 450g | unsalted butter, softened |
| 720g | powdered sugar, divided |
| ## Method |
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Grease two 23cm (9-inch) cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter until it lightens, about 5 minutes. Beat in 3 tablespoons of the dry Jell-O, and reserve the remainder for the frosting.
- Gradually cream in the sugar 50g at a time. Cream very well until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk and sour cream.
- Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold into the batter in three additions. Fold well to avoid an uneven cake.
- Turn into the prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centres comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Remove the parchment and cool completely.
Frosting
- Add the milk into a small saucepan on low heat and stir in the remaining Jell-O, stirring consistently. Remove from heat to cool to room temperature.
- Beat the butter on high speed until it lightens, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in 480g of the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time. Beat well. With the mixer on, drizzle in the cooled Jell-O mixture.
- Gradually beat in the remaining 240g of powdered sugar. Beat until pale, creamy, and uniform, about 5 minutes. If the mixture is too stiff to spread, additional milk may be beaten in.
- Spread the frosting atop the first cake. Invert the second cake atop the frosting to form the second layer. Frost the assembled cake with the remaining frosting.
Notes
- The reserved Jell-O from the cake batter is used entirely in the frosting — don't discard it.
- Any flavour of Jell-O can be substituted